Boston Celtics: Should Cs try to acquire Colin Sexton this offseason?

With Kemba Walker now on the Oklahoma City Thunder, there is a gaping hole in the Boston Celtics guard rotation. As of right now, Marcus Smart, Payton Pritchard, and Tremont Waters are the Celtics’ point guards.

With free agency, the draft, and possible trades inbound, it’s possible that this rotation changes. It’s more likely that it changes than it stays the same. Brad Stevens did not like playing young guy’s significant minutes, and his point guard rotation consists of a 27-year-old and two 23-year-olds with little NBA experience. Waters probably gets traded, and Pritchard will likely stay, but that still leaves room for another player.

I’ve thrown out some possible point guards on the market that could fill that role before, and I concluded that the Cs best course of action was to start Smart and sign a cheap third option like Patty Mills.

However, recent news has surfaced that the Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to move on from Colin Sexton to pair Jalen Green with Darius Garland. Not only is Sexton a poor fit next to Garland, but he will also be too expensive to keep next off-season when he is eligible for an extension. The Cleveland Cavaliers are still rebuilding, and they don’t want to muck up their rebuild by crowding their books with unnecessary max contracts. It’s understandable, but is it something the Boston Celtics should consider?

Could Sexton be what Walker couldn’t?

This article will analyze what Sexton could bring to the Celtics, what he can’t give the Cs, and if it is ultimately worth bringing him in.

The Pros of Sexton in Green

Sexton is coming off of a career year with the Cavaliers, averaging 24.3 points per game and 4.4 assists per game on 57.3 TS%. He increased his three-point volume, leading to a decrease in percentage, but he is still hovering around 37% and has flashed a pull-up three-pointer. He has gotten better from the floater range, shooting 45.5% from 3-10 feet this season, and his mid-range game is solid, shooting 48.3% from 10-16 feet.

His ability to draw fouls has gotten exponentially better, going from a .246 free throw percentage last season to a .347 clip this past season. Only 42.2% of his two-pointers were assisted, and only 68.4% of his three-pointers were assisted.

The kid can score, and he’s gotten more versatile and more effective every year he’s been in the league. He’s a gym rat; he plays with a lot of heart, grit, and courage despite being on one of the worst teams in the league. His intangibles combined with Smart’s, Al Horford’s, and Ime Udoka’s would make the Celtics a very mentally resilient group.

Additionally, Sexton is still on his rookie contract, which means Boston can easily match his salary. His expiring contract would allow the Celtics to maintain financial flexibility going into the 2022 off-season, where Bradley Beal, Steph Curry, or Zach LaVine could all potentially end up in green.

They would not have to give up Marcus Smart or Jaylen Brown for the sake of reaching a maximum contract. Instead, they would likely give up a boatload of young assets. Pritchard, Langford, Nesmith even Robert Williams could all be on the move in a potential deal for Sexton.

The Cons of Sexton in Boston Celtics Green

Boston is not short on scoring with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown under contract, with Evan Fournier hopefully joining them shortly. Sexton’s developing three-level scoring is not a number one priority need for Boston.

Instead, they could use some more playmakers, defenders, and shooters, all of which for cheap.

Firstly, Sexton is not a good playmaker. He has tunnel vision and does not have the patience or discipline to be the facilitator the Boston Celtics need. His scoring would allow him to draw the defense in so Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown would have more space to operate, but once Sexton drives, he is rarely looking to pass, and even if he was, he couldn’t make the right pass.

Sexton belongs on a team that already has elite passers to open up his scoring; the Celtics need someone that can open up their foundation player’s scoring. The Cs are not looking to develop other players; they are looking to build their established core of players and want guys who can help them do that. Sexton can’t.

Secondly, Sexton is not a good defender. With Smart, Tatum, Brown, and Williams, the Boston Celtics are not short on defenders. In theory, Sexton’s defense would not be a problem for them. Still, given how detrimental Kemba Walker was to the Celtics in the 2020 playoffs on defense, I don’t think Brad Stevens wants to trade for another undersized guard.

Instead, he’ll be looking to stock up on big guards, big wings, and big centers to match up with the size of their opponents.

Thirdly, Sexton is not a point guard if you could not tell already. He cannot be the lead guard of a high-powered offense due to his playmaking shortcomings and size. He is a shooting guard every day of the week, an undersized one at that. His finishing will drop in the playoffs, which means his overall production will fall in the playoffs.

We saw this with Kemba Walker. He struggled at the rim, which made him jump-shot reliant, which made him inconsistent. After coming up short in the 2020 playoffs, I don’t think Stevens wants another undersized guard that will not perform in the playoffs on a game-to-game basis.

Fourthly, Sexton is not worth giving up a haul of assets. Not only does he not fit, as I have explained, but he’s also unlikely to stay even if Boston trades for him. Stevens won’t offer him anywhere near max money, and he will walk, meaning the C’s would be selling most of their young assets for a one-year rental that wouldn’t raise their playoff ceiling.

Verdict

The Boston Celtics would be much better off signing 3&D wings, trading for cheap passers, and drafting projects in the second round.

Signing Patty Mills or trading for Delon Wright would be an infinitely better move for the Boston Celtics than trading for Sexton, given the financial and fit ramifications of acquiring him.